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Mom gives birth to baby boy in parking lot of St. Luke's University Hospital

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The Jennings family poses with baby Michael in this photo provided by St. Luke's University Hospital in Fountain Hill. Clockwise from the left, Kailyn, 10, Derick, Austin, 13, Crystal, Michael and Breydon, 7.
(Courtesy photo)

Crystal Jennings experienced the “longest 20 minutes ever” early Friday morning as she was on the verge of giving birth and her husband, Derick, drove her from their Forks Township home to St. Luke’s University Hospital.

Michael Jennings, the couple’s fourth child, couldn’t wait to come into the world. He arrived in the Fountain Hill hospital’s parking lot.

His mom started having contractions about 9 p.m. Thursday but tried to follow advice to wait until they’re more frequent -- and painful -- to head to the emergency room. When her water broke in the shower, she knew she needed to get to the emergency room fast. Baby Michael’s head was crowning as Derick Jennings pulled into the hospital parking lot.

“I told my husband, ‘Baby is coming. We need to get there. We need to get there quick,'” Crystal Jennings said. “It all happened so fast. Like 20 minutes from start to finish, it was over.”

When the couple arrived at the hospital, Derick Jennings ran into the emergency room and told a woman who tried to give him paperwork that the matter was much more urgent. A nurse brought a wheelchair to the parking lot and went to get help when she saw Crystal Jennings taking her pants off right then and there, Jennings said.

The expectant mom sat in the wheelchair facing the back and told her husband to catch the baby. The next time Crystal Jennings looked up, eight to 10 hospital employees surrounded her, and a bed had appeared in the parking lot, she said. A doctor cut the baby’s umbilical cord after they went inside.

She worried about her new baby boy, but her husband assured her Michael was fine. He was calmer, she said.

“I was just scared. This isn’t how you’re supposed to have a baby,” Crystal Jennings said. “Your body just knows what to do. I had no control over anything. My body was doing it all.”

Crystal Jennings credits her fitness regimen with contributing to such a fast delivery. She went to the gym and did Zumba three to five times a week, including the day before she gave birth at 39 weeks pregnant, she said.

Denise Rader, spokeswoman for St. Luke’s University Health Network, said pregnant women who come to the hospital after-hours all report to the emergency room, so someone saying his wife’s having a baby isn’t uncommon. The doctors, nurses and team drill for every scenario, Rader said.

“It does show how quickly they come,” Rader said. “They’re ready for everything.”

Crystal Jennings and her husband are also parents of 13-year-old Austin, 10-year-old Kailyn and 7-year-old Breydon. They were sound asleep at home when their parents left for the hospital and were on their way to meet the newest addition to their family Friday afternoon.

Michael Jennings weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 19 inches long when he was born at 12:45 Friday morning, Crystal Jennings said. His day consisted of eating and sleeping, while his mom hadn’t slept at all.

“I had way too much adrenaline last night, and I can’t take my eyes off him,” Crystal Jennings said. “I feel good.”